TAPI pipeline project to be presented in Singapore, New York, London in the fall
ASHGABAT. July 30. (Interfax) - There are plans to present the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline construction project in Singapore, New York and London in September-October of this year.
The presentation will feature a series of meetings with representatives of leading international oil and gas companies and financial institutes, Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister and head of the agency in charge of hydrocarbon resources, Yagshigeldy Kakayev, said at a government session aired on local television.
Those participating in the business tour, which is scheduled to last 18-20 days, will include representatives of the project's country participants - Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Turkmenistan - as well as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), together with which information was prepared on Turkmenistan's energy potential, on the technical characteristics of the transnational TAPI pipeline and on the business sides of contracts that will be signed for the project.
Reporting on the progress of work being done under intergovernmental agreements signed at a summit in Ashgabat for the heads of the project's participants in December 2010, Kakayev said that there have already been 15 meetings of the Steering Committee and 17 meetings of the Technical Working Group. These meetings have been focused on the financial, business and technical issues connected with the direct laying of the pipeline.
At the latest Steering Committee gathering, held in Turkmenistan in May, there was discussion of signing contracts to buy and sell natural gas between the relevant authorities. In addition, state concern Turkmengaz and Pakistani and Indian companies signed agreements, and the Turkmen and Afghani governments signed a memorandum of understanding to develop cooperation in the gas sphere.
"Therefore, the necessary legal framework was created to resolve issues regarding project financing and the establishment of a consortium that will provide for the construction and future operation of the gas pipeline," Kakayev said.
The business tour slated for the fall will widely familiarize the global community, including major international companies and investors, with this grandiose project, as well as create favorable conditions for its practical implementation, he said.
After listening to Kakayev's report, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow paid special attention to priority tasks associated with the creation of a multivariate system for transporting Turkmen energy resources to global sales markets, as well as with the further promotion of Turkmenistan's initiatives to form a new global architecture for energy security.
Berdimuhamedow noted the special significance given to the implementation of the TAPI construction project, which will ensure long-term supplies of over 30 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Turkmen natural gas to the South-East Asian region.
"The implementation of this large-scale project will facilitate further growth in the economic potential of all of the TAPI project's country participants and, most importantly, the enhancement of peace, stability and security in the region," the president said.
The 1,735-kilometer TAPI gas pipeline will start from the eastern region of Turkmenistan, where the largest gas fields are located. From there it will pass through Afghanistan and Pakistan and reach the city of Fazilka, India on the Pakistani-Indian border. Over 30 bcm of Turkmen gas will pass through the pipeline every year.
